Wizards top Rockets in OT despite Harden's 54

John Wall had 36 points and 11 assists, Bradley Beal added 32 points and the Washington Wizards rallied from an early 17-point deficit to defeat the visiting Houston Rockets 135-131 in overtime.

The Wizards overcame a season-high 54 points from Rockets guard James Harden.

Washington started the overtime with an 8-1 run capped when Otto Porter Jr. picked up a steal and fed Beal for a dunk with 1:50 left, and the Rockets got no closer than within three points. Houston shot 2 of 7 in overtime with four turnovers.

Harden missed three straight shots and turned the ball over twice in the final minutes of regulation but fed Clint Capela for an alley-oop that tied it, 125-125, with 9.8 seconds left.

Wall had the ball knocked away on a jumper attempt with 1.2 seconds left, and he then blocked Eric Gordon's jumper at the buzzer.

Markief Morris had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Wizards bench out-scored the Rockets reserves 45-9.

Gordon had 36 points, and Capela had 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for Houston, which has lost three straight games.

Harden had 11 assists, eight rebounds and 13 turnovers in 47 minutes.

The Rockets were without guard Chris Paul (strained hamstring) for a second consecutive game. Backup guard Gerald Green (sore right ankle) was also out.

Washington center Dwight Howard (gluteal soreness) remains out.

Harden scored 21 points in the third quarter as the Rockets went on an 18-4 run late in the quarter to take an eight-point lead, which was trimmed to four by the end of the frame.

The Rockets jumped out to a 17-point first-quarter lead behind Gordon and Harden, who combined for 25 points in the quarter. A 15-4 run pulled Washington within 34-28, but the Rockets pushed their lead to 42-30 by the end of the quarter as they hit seven 3-pointers.

It was the third time this season that the Wizards had given up 40 or more points in a quarter.

The Wizards rallied again in the second quarter and they led 67-65 at intermission.

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NBA: Wall, Beal power Wizards past Lakers

LOS ANGELES - John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 45 points as the Washington Wizards gained some revenge and hopefully some needed confidence with a 111-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Otto Porter contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday for the Wizards, who had lost five of seven starting with a 102-99 road loss against the Lakers on October 25.

Washington, who improved to 6-5 on the season, also stopped a three-game home losing streak during which they allowed an average of 122 points per game.

Brook Lopez and Jordan Crawford each had 15 points as seven Lakers scored in double figures. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma each scored 13, and Julius Randle had 11 for the struggling Lakers.

Lakers rookie guard Lonzo Ball had another poor shooting night while running the offense. Ball, who entered shooting 29 percent from the floor, finished three of 12 overall and one of seven on three-point tries.

Ball wasn't alone as Los Angeles shot 36 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers in its second road game in as many nights.

By comparison the Wizards drained 51.8 percent of their field-goal attempts, scored 50 points in the paint and led by as many as 21 points.

Washington shot 60 percent from the field and scored its most points in any first half this season for a 69-56 halftime lea

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Red-hot Curry helps Warriors run through Wizards

Stephen Curry scored 25 of his 51 points in the first quarter and sank 11 three-pointers as the Golden State Warriors downed the Washington Wizards 134-121 for their eighth straight win on Wednesday.

Golden State (45-4) obliterated Washington early with Curry providing the firepower, including 36 points in the first half on 13-of-14 shot attempts with eight from beyond the arc.

The Warriors led by 17 points in the first quarter and 74-60 at halftime. After the Wizards closed to 81-79 midway through the third quarter, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player helped fend off Washington with a pair of three-pointers.

Fellow All-Star guard John Wall played like one, leading the Wizards (21-26) with a season-high 41 points and 10 assists but Washington has now lost two straight and seven-of-nine.

Curry finished 19-of-28 from the field, including 11-of-16 on three-pointers for his fourth career game with at least 50 points. His 51 points tied the Verizon Center record for most individual points, matching Michael Jordan and Gilbert Arenas.

His 11 three-pointers is the most in the NBA this season.

Forward Draymond Green had 12 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, setting a Warriors single-season record with his 10th triple-double. Guard Klay Thompson had 24 points.

Wall inspired a fast-break heavy comeback as Washington opened the second half with a 19-7 run but the point guard sat out the final 6:18 of the period after picking up his fourth foul.

Golden State took advantage and entered the fourth quarter leading 103-92.

With Washington still in rally range, Curry nailed his 11th and final three-pointer for a 120-109 lead with 4:22 left. Golden State made 20-of-42 from distance.

Curry made his first six shots, including five three-pointers inside the opening seven minutes before the raucous and sellout crowd.

He finished the opening period with seven three's as the Warriors led 43-28 after the first quarter.

Washington shot 50.5 percent from the field and played better than in several recent lacklustre performances, but could not keep up with the defending league champions.

Guard Bradley Beal had 18 points.

Curry grabbed seven rebounds as Golden State out-rebounded Washington 49-38.

The Warriors won their previous seven games by an average of 21.6 points.

The teams close the season series at Golden State on March 29.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

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Warriors hold off Heat for 7th straight win

Warriors 111, Heat 103

Stephen Curry scored nine of his game-high 31 points after the Miami Heat closed within seven midway through the fourth quarter, helping the Golden State Warriors hold on for a 111-103 victory on Monday.

Golden State power forward Draymond Green recorded a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson dropped in 17 points as the Warriors (36-2) ran their home record to 18-0 this season with their 36th consecutive home-court victory overall.

The win did not come easy against a Heat team that prevailed in eight of its previous 11 trips to Oakland.

The Warriors hit only seven of their 23 three-point attempts. Even Curry struggled from beyond the arc, going 4-for-11 on a night when he was just 11-for-27 overall.

However, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player preserved his club's seventh consecutive win with two three-pointers, a midrange jumper and one free throw over the final 4:52 to complete his 16th 30-point game of the season.

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Wizards 114, Bulls 100

Washington is dealing with numerous injuries but had no trouble beating Chicago 114-100 at the United Center on Monday.

The Wizards won their second straight game by getting points from 10 players, including seven who finished in double-figure scoring.

John Wall led the way with 17 points, 10 assists and three steals, while Garrett Temple, Otto Porter and Nene all scored 14 points in the win.

Ramon Sessions had 16 points, Gary Neal added 11 points and Drew Gooden finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, all off the bench.

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Wizards finally solve Spurs

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards ended nearly a decade of frustration on Tuesday with a 101-93 NBA triumph over San Antonio, their first win over the Spurs since 2005.

John Wall scored 25 points and handed out eight assists for the Wizards, who had lost 17 straight encounters against the Texas team.

Wall, drafted first overall in 2010, was a personal 0-7 against the Spurs. Washington's last win over San Antonio came on November 12, 2005.

French big man Kevin Seraphin scored 11 of his season-high 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards.

Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce added 13 points apiece for the hosts, and Marcin Gortat pulled down 11 rebounds.

French point guard Tony Parker led the reigning NBA champion Spurs with 14 points. Tim Duncan added 11 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double since December.

A day after the Spurs received a warm welcome at the White House from US President Barack Obama, in honor of their fifth NBA title, the Wizards were less hospitable.

Wall got off to a hot start, netting 12 points on five shots in the first quarter. The Wizards hit five of six from three-point range to seize a 31-24 lead.

The Spurs trailed until Boris Diaw's hook shot early in the fourth quarter gave them a 76-75 advantage, and it was a back-and-forth battle early in the final period.

Seraphin's layup with 5:44 remaining put the Wizards ahead for good with the 10th lead change of the quarter.

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Wall wields hot hand as Wizards sneak past Pacers

WASHINGTON - The red-hot Washington Wizards kept their win streak alive with a 96-94 overtime victory Wednesday over the short-handed Indiana Pacers thanks to a 31-point and three-steal performance by John Wall.

Wall also had 10 assists and a half dozen rebounds for the Wizards, who stretched their streak to four consecutive victories.

"You just got to find a way to win," Wall said. "I was being aggressive, taking the shots that were there for me."

Wall scored six straight points to erase an 88-87 lead for the Pacers in the overtime and then all Washington had to do was hang on down the stretch.

Wall said he knew he had to step up his game down the stretch and in the extra session in front of a crowd of 15,268 at the Verizon Center arena.

"I put in a lot of work to be able to make those shots. Their big men hang back a bit and so they want you to take those shots. This was one of those nights where I had to be extra aggressive, especially going into the overtime," he said.

The Pacers were without Paul George, George Hill, CJ Watson, David West and Rod Stuckey. They lost Lance Stephenson in the offseason after he went to Charlotte.

Roy Hibbert and Chris Copeland both missed chances in the closing seconds of overtime with the Pacers trailing by just two points.

Garrett Temple hit four three-pointers and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, who brought in Paul Pierce this season to be their small forward in place of Trevor Ariza.

The same two teams met in last season's playoff quarter-finals, in which the Pacers eliminated the Wizards in six games.

Wall said his team has something to prove after the way the season ended last year.

"Last year we didn't do a good job of taking care of our home court," Wall said. "I think they took the lead at one point tonight and we came out and made big shots. We remember what happened in the playoffs last year and we don't want to go through that again."

Donald Sloan, who tallied a career-high 31 points to go with seven assists and six rebounds, netted the final seven Indiana points in regulation to force overtime.

Copeland came off the bench to finish with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Solomon Hill provided 14 points and eight rebounds for the 1-4 Pacers, who are off to their worst start since the 1996-97 squad began 1-5.

"This was another game the defence won for us," said Wizards coach Randy Wittman.

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Wall nets 31 as Wizards beat Lakers

Wizards 116, Lakers 111

John Wall scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and Nene added a career-high 30 as Washington snapped Los Angeles' three-game winning streak.

Martell Webster also had 20 for the Wizards (6-8) who have won four of five games.

Jordan Farmar made 9-of-11 shots and finished with 22 points for Los Angeles (7-8), who had seven players score in double figures.

The Lakers led 108-107 with 1:54 remaining but Wall's jumper 20 seconds later put the Wizards in front for good and started a 6-0 spurt.

Earlier in the day, the Wizards announced leading scorer Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a stress injury in his right fibula and will miss at least two weeks.

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Magic 109, Hawks 92

E'Twaun Moore's nine-point, third-quarter binge helped Orlando Magic overcome a 12-point deficit to beat the Atlanta Hawks.

With the win, the Magic broke an 11-game, head-to-head losing streak against their Eastern Conference rival.

Moore, a second-year player, helped Orlando out-score Atlanta 36-20 in the third quarter and take over momentum.

Arron Afflalo led the Magic (5-9) with 26 points.

Atlanta (8-7) lost back-to-back games for the first time under first-year coach Mike Budenholzer. Tuesday's game ended with the Hawks' biggest losing margin of the season.

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